Apple TV+ has pulled back the curtain on Wonder Pets: In The City (13 x 22 minutes, pictured), a new preschool spinoff series from Nickelodeon Animation based on a popular toon from Little Airplane Productions that aired from 2006 to 2016 on Nickelodeon/Nick Jr.

Slated for a global launch on December 13, the spinoff was developed with executive producers Jennifer Oxley and Jeffrey Lesser on board, who were instrumentally involved in creating the animation style (Oxley) and musical framework (Lesser) of the original series. Nick Animation’s iteration will continue to feature the same unique 2D-animated photo-puppetry look that defined the IP in its heyday—achieved using a method of animating real photographs with After Effects.

In The City will introduce three brand-new classroom pets (Izzy the Guinea Pig, Zuri the Bunny and Tate the Snake) as lead characters, while staying true to the musical rescue mission underpinning that worked so well the first time around.

Wonder Pets tagged along with its three protagonists—a  turtle, a guinea pig and a duckling—as they set out to help fellow animals in trouble by hopping into their trusty “Flyboat” and singing all of the dialogue operetta-style.

Oxley tells Kidscreen that the new Wonder Pets will travel all around the world in a brand-new vehicle called the Jetcar—even venturing into a Japanese Sumi-e painting. Reflecting on the strengths of the original, she says, “The show had a joyful happiness that drew in folks of all ages—it oozed heart.” 

As for its trademark symphonic roots, “In every episode, we [recorded] a live orchestra creating a unique musical sound,” notes Oxley, adding that In The City will bring back the old band and some familiar composers, as well as featuring a number of diverse new voices including Natsumi Osawa, Georgia Stitt, Vicente Carrasco and Salim and Sulaiman Merchant.

With this announcement, Apple TV+ seems to be sticking to the same strategy of revamping legacy IPs that has yielded The Snoopy Show, Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock and, most recently, Yo Gabba GabbaLand!, which premiered on the streamer in August.